Corrugated board table



Jan. 4,' 1966 J. J. WADDELL 3,227,106

CORRUGATED BOARD TABLE Filed Jan. 22, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 755. 9&7

INVENTOR. JUH/VJ WADDE LL Jan. 4, 1966 J. J. WADDELL 3,227,106

CORRUGATED BOARD TABLE Filed Jan. 22, 1964 2 Sheets-$heet 2 INVENTOR- JOHNJ W/l DDELL ZM W ABE VT United States Patent 3,227,106 CGRRUGATED EUARD TABLE John J. Waddell, Harding Ave, RED. 1, South lllainiield, NJ.

Filed Jan. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 339,446 4 Claims. (Ci. 108-44) This invention relates to a paper box of corrugated board and more particularly to a corrugated board box that may be converted into a useful piece of furniture such as a table or desk.

Various items of furniture have been constructed of corrugated board but they are usually designed to be assembled from a plurality of especially designed and cut or formed pieces and joined by flexible tapes or stapled together.

In this invention the corrugated board is a box preferably of asize and shape that lends itself to the transformation from a box to a table, etc.

It is an object of this invention to convert a corrugated board box into a table or desk.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a corrugated board box with a cover in which the cover is comprised of two overlapping portions in which each portion is flexibly attached or hinged to opposite sides of the open end of said box and in which each overlapping portion is foldable in half to permit the unattached ends to be folded back and be inserted in parallel slits in either side to form a supporting leg at each end of said box.

A further object of this invention is to provide a corrugated board box generally rectangular in form having one end open and in which the open end is provided with two hingedly supported overlapping cover portions, and in which said cover portion are foldable in half to form V-shaped supporting legs at each end of said rectangular shaped box and in which means are provided to retain said V-shaped legs in their supporting positions, and in which said box becomes a table.

A further object of this invention is to provide a corrugated board box generally rectangular in form having one end open and in which the open end is provided with two hingedly supported overlapping cover portions, and in which said cover portion are foldable in half to form V- shaped supporting legs at each end of said rectangular shaped box and in which means are provided to retain said V-shaped legs in their supporting positions, and in which said box becomes a bed table and is provided with accessories related to its use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a corrugated board box generally rectangular in form having one end open and in which the open end is provided with two hingedly supported overlapping cover portions, and in Which said cover portion are foldabie in half to form V-shaped supporting legs at each end of said rectangular shaped box and in which means are provided to retain said V-shaped legs in their supporting positions, and in which said box becomes a picnic or lunch table and is provided with accessories related to its use.

Other objects of this invention shall be apparent by referring to the detailed description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the corrugated box formed as a table,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the corrugated box showing one half of the overlapping cover in an open position,

FIG. 3 is a further embodiment of the device shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a partial detail of the end construction of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of one leg as utilized in FIG. 3,

3,227,106 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a further embodiment of FIG. 5,

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken FIG. 7,

Fl G. 9 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 with the accessories added, and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing a further embodiment.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGS. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a corrugated paper board box 16 preferably rectangular in form. Box 10 is provided with two overlapping covers 11 and 12 that are hingedly formed or attached at one end 11A and 12A. It is to be noted that the covers 11 and 12 are creased to fold at their middle 11B and 128. In FIG. 2 the box 10 is shown with one cover 12 extended to illustrate how it is folded at 1213 and the end or outer edge 12C is inserted into a pair of parallel slits 14 in the sides 15 and 16 thus forming a V-shaped supporting leg 20. When both ends 11 and 12 have been formed into supporting v shaped legs the device may be turned over and it will stand as a table as shown in FIG. 1.

A further embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 3 in which the box 10A is not provided with a cover and in which four corrugated folded legs 21 are provided. The legs 21 may be in a folded or rolled form as shown in FIG. 6 or they may be in a hollow form as shown in FIG. 8 or the hollow center may be filled with a reinforcing stick 22. Each leg 21 is provided with a cardboard square 23 that is glued or attached at one end. This enlarged square 23 is fitted to the end of the leg as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 so that the legs 21 may be mounted to abut with the sides of the box and the square 23 abutting with the underside of the box top 24. The legs 21 may then be stapled or glued or both to retain them in this relationship, thus forming a table as illustrated in FIG. 3.

With a table formed as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 there are various uses for this form of device. Referring to FIG. 9 there is illustrated a bed table for the sick room or hospital in which the patient while in bed, can position this device to straddle his or her figure and have most of the accessories such as personal items, within easy reach. By way of example, the bed table is provided with an aperture 30 in its top 24 so that a glass or cup 31 will rest in the aperture and be gripped by the surrounding lip. A slit 32 may be cut or pre-cut in the top 24 and a box of tissues 33 may be mounted under the top 24 and supported by the two edges 11C and 12C. A further slit 34 may be cut in top 24 and a roll of tissue paper 35 may be mounted on a rod 36 mounted in the box 10 and supported in circular apertures 37 and 38. The two V-shaped legs 20 also provide space for retaining other articles such as a towel 39, a tooth brush 4d, a comb 41, and a face cloth 42 and mirror 43. Strips or elastic straps may be inserted to retain these items as illustrated. Other personal items such as a pocketbook, writing paper, etc. may be readily stored in the hollow portion of the V-shaped legs 20 and the bed table as illustrated in FIG. 9 will retain all items in their proper relationship whether the table is in use or is picked up bodily and stored thus making it a convenient method of retaining all personal items readily available for the patient at any time as desired. It is to be understood that the table as illustrated in FIG. 9 is provided with accessories merely by way of example and the arrangement or type of articles may be changed to suit the particular patient utilizing the table. It is also to be understood that the table may have an additional use not necessarily as a bed table. The same table may be readily used as a writing table for a couch or chair.

on line 8-8 of Referring to FIG. there is illustrated a further embodiment utilizing the table as illustrated in FIG. 1 as a lunch table, picnic table or camp table in which a plurality of different types of accessories may be first stored or deposited in the box 10 for carrying or shipping to its destination and when received or when it is to be utilized, the contents of box 10 may be removed and box 10 may then be converted as illustrated in FIG. 2 to open and bend the V-shaped legs into their intended form to form the table as illustrated in FIG. 1. The contents may then be mounted or placed upon the table for the intended lunch, picnic or use in camp as desired. Further modifications of the table are illustrated in FIG. 10, that is, since the box 10 is hollow and in its inverted form the bottom of the box would be open thus providing no support for anything inserted through the top 24. To provide support for example, if a soda water bottle is mounted through an aperture 30, a support is needed to retain the bottle in a position as illustrated. Therefore, a pair of slots 50 are cut, one through the side of the box, the other through the end of the box in the same plane so that a small strip 51 of corrugated board may be inserted through slots 50 to provide a support for the soda water bottle as illustrated. Likewise other items may be similarly supported, for example, a plurality of paper cups 52 provided in nested form as illustrated may be inserted through a second aperture 30 and may be supported at the bottom of the nested cups by a similarcorrugated board 51 inserted through similar slots 50. In this particular embodiment, the V-shaped legs 20 may be provided with small V-shaped flaps 53 of corrugated board; to close both ends of the V-shaped area the flaps 53 may be affixed in place by ordinary paper rivets or strips of adhesive tape. Thus the lower area of the V-shaped leg becomes a pocket and the pocket may be filled with various items, for example, in using the table for camping, the pocket may retain potatoes or in using the table for a picnic the pocket may be filled with ice cubes. In such use the lower area of leg 20 would be punched with two or three apertures 54 for drainage and the legs 20 may be treated with a spray coating to make the pocket impervious to fluid so that the water would not dissolve or crumble the structural strength of leg 20. With the pocket areas of legs 20 filled with items such as mentioned the weight provided at this portion of the table is conducive to maintaining a better balance that is, the table is not easily tipped or knocked over. If the weight is concentrated on the top of the table as is sometimes the case, it is desirable to place a stone within the V-shaped area on each end to thus anchor the table or hold it in balance.

Although the corrugated box 10 has been shown in a rectangular form, this disclosure does not preclude the use of a square box and although the preferred embodiment has been disclosed in its various uses, the further embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 may be used in the same fashion but the box 10A may be provided with both a solid top 24 and a solid bottom 24A, thus the storage space in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 would be Within the box and may be utilized as desired by cutting the desired size opening such as 60 in any of the four side faces or ends. Thus although the table has been shown in two forms, other variations of the table may be utilized without departing from the spirit of this invention and although the table has been illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 to provide the means of holding a plurality of accessories the arrangement or even the accessories may be varied without departing from the spirit of this invention and although the table illustrated and described herein is preferably constructed of corrugated board, it may also be formed of woo-d or sheet metal without departing from the spirit of this invention and this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A corrugated board box having an integral bottom and two sides and two ends and in which the open end of said box is provided with a pair of integral overlapping covers and in which each overlapping cover is foldable in half to form a V-shaped extension from the end of said box, said box provided on its open side with a pair of slits, one on each side out at an angle to receive the unattached edge of said cover, said two overlapping covers afiixed in a V-formation to said box to form a pair of legs that are integral with said box to support said box in an inverted relation when set up to form a table.

2. In a device according to claim 1 in which said box is utilized as a bed table and in which the pair of V- shaped extensions are formed to support a box of tissue under the table top resting on the opposite edges of said V-shaped extension and in which a slit is cut in said top to feed the tissue through.

3. In a device according to claim 1 in which said table is utilized as a bed table and in which a roller is mounted within said box between said two sides and a roll of tissue is supported on said roller within said box and a slit is cut in said box top to permit the tissue to be fed through.

4. In a device according to claim 1 in which said table is utilized as a bed table and in which the pair of V- shaped extensions are formed to provide a area within the V-shaped extension for storage and in which strips of elastic strap are inserted as attaching means within the V-shaped extension to support a plurality of accessories.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 165,011 6/1875 Marsters 1081 12 1,361,882 12/1920 List 206-45 1,448,743 3/1923 Grady 20645 1,690,178 11/1928 Reeves 2208 1,915,958 6/1933 Skirrow 10847 XR 2,414,659 1/ 1947 Montague 2064S 2,459,443 1/1949 Mabry 10844 2,553,082 5/1951 Conner -12 2,587,302 2/1952 Fawcett 206-57 X 2,609,136 9/1952 Sider 10851 X 2,652,300 9/1953 Graber et al. 108--112 X 2,698,696 1/1955 Strong 108-51 X 2,903,311 9/1959 Earhart 108-34 3,071,307 1/1963 Keller 108-45 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,037,965 12/1958 Germany.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Exminer.

G. O. FINCH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CORRUGATED BOARD BOX HAVING AN INTEGRAL BOTTOM AND TWO SIDES AND TWO ENDS AND IN WHICH THE OPEN END OF SAID BOX IS PROVIDED WITH A PAIR OF INTEGRAL OVERLAPPING COVERS AND IN WHICH EACH OVERLAPPING COVER IS FOLDABLE IN HALF TO FORM A V-SHAPED EXTENSION FROM THE END OF SAID BOX, SAID BOX PROVIDED ON ITS OPEN SIDE WITH A PAIR OF SLITS, ONE ON EACH SIDE CUT AT AN ANGLE TO RECEIVE THE 